Professional summary
Richard's main research area concerns the fate and behaviour of chemicals in the environment and in particular the application and development of mathematical models for helping to solve real world problems related to river water quality. He has experience in modelling a wide range of potential contaminants of surface waters including nutrients, organic matter, micro-organic contaminants including pesticides, and recently nano-particles. He has received ISO9001 internal auditor training.
His research has recently focused on predicting the concentrations in rivers of “down-the-drain” chemicals —personal care products and pharmaceuticals — and this extends to the study of steroid oestrogens. Richard uses GIS tools to make maps of contamination and combine these concentrations with eco-toxicological effect levels to make risk maps. He models at a range of scales from small catchments up to the whole of the European continent.